Maximize your portal solution through a rapid, low-risk deployment.

IBM Software Services for LotusTo support your business objectives

3

For businesses around the world, Web portals help increase productivity.

Lower costs. Uncover new revenue opportunities. Unlock the value

in existing business systems. And drive competitive advantage.

Gartner, Inc. expects the portal product market to grow through 2006 and

reports that “enterprise portals continue to place in the top 10 on most

surveys of CIOs’ priorities.”1

3

IBM WebSphere® Portal for Multiplat-

forms software, one of the industry’s

most comprehensive portal offerings,

can help you:

• Boost efficiency by providing

centralized access to business data

and applications and by enabling

real-time collaboration.

• Improve decision making through any-

time access to relevant information.

• Reduce costs by increasing efficiency,

improving information flow and lowering

training expenses.

• Drive revenue by enabling workforce

productivity and innovation.

• Increase customer satisfaction by

forming tighter client relationships.

The software is available in two versions:

• IBM WebSphere Portal Enable for

Multiplatforms software is the base

offering that provides personaliza-

tion, content publishing, document

management and productivity

functions along with the scalable

portal framework.

• IBM WebSphere Portal Extend for

Multiplatforms software adds powerful

collaboration, extended search and

Web analysis features to enhance

portal effectiveness.

IBM [portal software] continues to lead in several respects. …its vision is well-thought-out, and its technology is broad.2

4 5

Trust IBM to help you effectively deploy a portal solutionWhether you’re ready to deploy a portal

solution or upgrade your existing portal,

investing in new technology can feel risky.

To justify the investment, you need to

ensure it will meet your business needs.

Be compatible with your IT system. And

fit within your budget. When you’re ready

to deploy, you want it done fast—and you

want it done right.

The professionals from IBM Software

Services for Lotus® specialize in

mission-critical projects that require

seamless integration and real-world

experience. IBM Software Services for

Lotus professionals have the resources

and connections to conduct success-

ful WebSphere Portal for Multiplatforms

deployments designed to help you meet

your business goals. They not only help

you design, build, test and deploy your

portal solution. They apply extensive

technical consulting and training skills to

help you tap your solution’s full potential

to improve business processes. Our

specialists help mitigate your risk by

demonstrating how WebSphere Portal

for Multiplatforms solutions can benefit

your organization. And they provide

effective training, consulting and knowl-

edge transfer so you can get a rapid

return on your investment (ROI).

Identify how a portal can benefit your organizationBefore introducing portal technology

into your organization, you must clearly

understand your needs and how a

portal can help address them. IBM

Software Services for Lotus specialists

can conduct methodical assessments

to give you a clear vision of your busi-

ness requirements and determine how

WebSphere Portal for Multiplatforms

software can help you achieve them.

The IBM Software Services for Lotus

team offers a business value assess-

ment for portals, consisting of four

modules that explore how portal

technology can address your specific

business challenges. This proven

approach provides a set of tools to help

you prioritize and analyze the impact

of making a business portal investment

or replacing or adding functions to an

existing portal. Our team works with you

using a structured evaluation model to

determine what areas of your business

will benefit from WebSphere Portal for

Multiplatforms software.

4 5

Upon completion of this assessment,

IBM Software Services for Lotus special-

ists deliver your customized business

requirements and a roadmap to help

effectively introduce WebSphere

Portal for Multiplatforms software into

your infrastructure.

Speed deployment while minimizing risk The faster you deploy WebSphere Portal

for Multiplatforms software, the sooner

you can realize the benefits of a busi-

ness portal and your ROI. IBM Software

Services for Lotus professionals can

conduct several initiatives—from work-

shops to a pilot rollout—to help you

deploy your portal solution as efficiently

and safely as possible.

Start with an IT architecture that supports a successful portal

The critical architecture and design

workshop sets the technical direction of

your portal implementation. During this

onsite workshop, you’ll have access to

the experience and best practices of the

lab-based team that helped develop

IBM WebSphere Portal Server and IBM

WebSphere Application Server software.

IBM Software Services for Lotus

architects work with you to review your

business goals and to develop an archi-

tecture—or validate your existing

architecture—to support a successful

portal solution. They assess the features

and functions required for your portal,

ranging from application integration

to collaboration to a single sign-on

security solution, to help meet your

business objectives.

Defining your needs is another prerequi-

site to successfully deploying a Web

portal. A business requirements assess-

ment by IBM Software Services for

Lotus specialists addresses your current

business challenges—from the point of

view of your business users, stakehold-

ers and project sponsors—to provide a

strong understanding of what is required

to implement your portal solution. The

business requirements assessment is

designed to:

• Consider your main business drivers.

• Identify your different user communi-

ties and their needs.

• Identify data sources, applications

and communication networks that

need to be built into the solution.

Business value alignment

• Determine how you can reap the greatest benefit from a business portal solution

• Assess portal initiatives in terms of measurable benefits compared to their ease of implementation

• Help project stakeholders reach a shared understanding of different portal investment benefits and risks—and consensus about how to proceed

Business value demonstration

• Create a working model that represents the possibilities of your portal and the potential impact it can have on your organization

• Visualize how a proposed portal solution can deliver value

• Demonstrate the value and functions of the business portal to a wider audience throughout your value chain

• Use findings from this module in the ROI analysis and to help guide implementation

Business value assessment

• Identify the potential employee and IT infrastructure costs required to implement a business portal solution

• Produce macro estimates of costs and benefits

• Present findings and recommendations to help define the next steps in your business portal initiatives

• Deliver a written report outlining ROI and cost-benefit analyses

Business value realization (optional)

• Evaluate your existing portal

• Use findings as a baseline for an ROI analysis to expand your existing WebSphere Portal software solution or to replace a current portal with a WebSphere Portal software solution

A business value assessment for portals can help you explore the benefits of WebSphere Portal for Multiplatforms software in your organization.

6 7

6 7

As applicable, the architects recom-

mend IBM and third-party technologies

to help build each layer of your portal,

including content management, busi-

ness rules development, front-end

design and more. Then they identify

best practices associated with these

products to help you take full advan-

tage of the solution. To help you clearly

visualize the end product, the architects

select a key subsystem, such as one

portlet within the portal, and create

a low-level design that they can use as

a template and implementation strategy for

the remainder of the portal development.

At the conclusion of the architecture

and design workshop, you’ll receive an

initial project plan for the migration and

deployment of your system.

Experience portal capabilities in a non-production environment

To demonstrate how portal technol-

ogy fits within your environment—its

capabilities and how it can be applied

as part of your business solution—IBM

Software Services for Lotus professionals

install and configure WebSphere Portal

for Multiplatforms software in a non-

production environment. This low-cost

initiative enables you to evaluate the

software in a controlled setting with a

small subset of users over a short period

of time. So you can experience the

benefits of a Web portal immediately—

before making a commitment—with

minimal risk and disruption to your busi-

ness. This test-drive program requires

adherence to the following provisions:

• Any suggested integrations must

be limited to the components included

in WebSphere Portal Extend for

Multiplatforms software.

• WebSphere Portal for Multiplatforms

software requires a dedicated server,

and only IBM standard configurations

will be used.

• Use portlets available in the IBM

WebSphere Portal and IBM Lotus

Workplace™ catalog.

• Use only the default WebSphere Portal

for Multiplatforms themes and skins.

Experience real-world benefits and get user feedback

To demonstrate your portal’s tangible

business benefits, allowing you to gain

buy-in from the rest of your organization,

IBM Software Services for Lotus special-

ists use a proven, step-by-step system

to deploy WebSphere Portal for Multi-

platforms software in a small production

environment to a limited number of end

users. With this portal pilot initiative,

your end users have an opportunity to

provide feedback to help tailor the solu-

tion to your business objectives. And

you can help reduce risk by addressing

any issues that arise before deploying

the full Web portal solution.

8 9

Prepare your administrators to manage a portal solution

Your system administrators need to

be ready to manage your WebSphere

Portal for Multiplatforms solution after

the consulting engagement is com-

plete. By including the WebSphere

Portal system administration workshop

in your IBM Software Services for Lotus

portal engagement, you can be sure

that your administrators are prepared.

This two-day workshop provides

hands-on experience in performing

administrative tasks in your environ-

ment. Workshop materials include

simulations of administrative tasks that

can be used for after-class support.

Topics covered include:

• Identifying WebSphere Portal for

Multiplatforms components.

• Securing your portal environment.

• Managing pages.

• Deploying portlets.

• Managing access to resources.

• Using the administrative tools to

manage the environment.

While experience with database and mes-

saging administration is recommended,

prerequisites for this workshop include:

• Extensive experience in installing and

configuring network server and client

hardware and software.

• Working knowledge of networks, net-

work protocols and operating systems.

Roll out a full portal solution with confidence

One of the key strengths of IBM Software

Services for Lotus specialists is the ability

to provide a fast start to a full WebSphere

Portal for Multiplatforms implementation.

When you’ve determined that a portal is

right for your organization, our architec-

ture, design and product specialists can

help you and your systems integrator

fully deploy your portal solution. Quickly.

Effectively. With minimal risk. You’ll have

access to IBM software specialists

throughout the engagement to answer

questions, provide guidance and con-

duct a smooth rollout.

Integrate Lotus Workplace software and get more from your portalLeverage WebSphere Portal for

Multiplatforms software with IBM

Lotus Workplace software to build a

fully collaborative portal workplace.

Lotus Workplace software is a group

of integrated products that provides

multiple collaborative capabilities in

a reliable, easy-to-manage platform.

Through your portal, everyone in your

value chain can use a personalized,

collaborative workplace to access real-

time communication tools. Learn new

skills at their convenience. And easily

manage documents.

By leveraging WebSphere Portal for

Multiplatforms software along with

Lotus Workplace collaborative solu-

tions, you can create an environment

that encourages innovation. Helps

increase responsiveness and effi-

ciency. And reduces organizational

complexity into a simplified, single

point of interaction. So your organiza-

tion can gain competitive advantage.

8 9

• IBM Lotus Workplace Messaging™ software is an easy-to-use, cost-effective messaging solution

designed to help communicate information to employees with different needs. It’s ideal for those without

dedicated access to e-mail or computers, and for employees who require more advanced productivity

features than those provided by basic browsers.

• IBM Lotus Workplace Collaborative Learning software is a full-feature, flexible, standards-based

learning management system that lets you customize, deliver and manage enterprise learning programs

efficiently. The portlet-based user interface seamlessly integrates online education resources on user

desktops and lets training directors manage and track employee learning programs, courseware and

resources to help improve efficiencies and save money.

• IBM Lotus Workplace Team Collaboration software integrates instant messaging and presence

awareness, Web conferencing and customizable team spaces. These collaborative capabilities can help

you—together with your customers, business partners and suppliers—simplify your infrastructure and

business processes. Bring together team members. Increase productivity. Improve customer responsive-

ness. And enable faster decision making.

• IBM Lotus Workplace Web Content Management software delivers end-to-end Web content manage-

ment via the Internet, intranets, extranets and portal sites. By enabling business owners to publish and

update their own Web content in minutes instead of days, you can be more responsive to customer, part-

ner and supplier information needs.

• IBM Lotus Workplace Documents software is a low-cost, collaborative document management solution

that makes it easy to create, organize and share important documents and information across your orga-

nization. The solution facilitates document reviews and approvals, versioning, search and private drafts for

spreadsheets, presentations, word processing, e-mail, graphics files and more, so you can work collab-

oratively—on demand.

IBM Software Services for Lotus professionals can help you integrate one,

some or all of the following Lotus Workplace solutions within your WebSphere

Portal for Multiplatforms environment to meet your business needs:

10 11

Realize the full potential of your IBM solutions through educationEducation can maximize the return on

your technology investment and help

increase productivity by building in-

house expertise. IBM Software Services

for Lotus professionals can work closely

with you to conduct education assess-

ments, build education roadmaps and

help maximize your technology use.

During implementation, you’ll receive

effective technical and end-user

training available through any of the

following methods:

• Workshops and classroom training

through IBM’s global network of edu-

cation partners

• Facilitated online training

• Stand-alone education solutions,

including self-paced, computer-based

training modules and just-in-time

performance support tools

These learning initiatives can help

drive more efficient use of Lotus tech-

nologies. Increase your competitive

advantage. And extend skills to support

evolving Lotus software technologies.

You can also choose to certify individu-

als in your organization through the

IBM Certified Professional Program for

Lotus—including IBM Certified Asso-

ciate, IBM Certified Professional and

IBM Certified Advanced Professional

for developers and administrators.

Advanced certifications can help your

employees use IBM solutions to their

fullest potential as well as give your

company a competitive advantage.

Dedicated to the success of your IBM software deployments A major technology investment requires

important considerations, including risk,

cost, training and ROI. IBM Software

Services for Lotus professionals can

address these issues and create a

rapid deployment plan to optimize your

WebSphere Portal for Multiplatforms

solution. When you choose IBM Software

Services for Lotus professionals, you

get field-tested experience, innovative

solutions, advanced education and

unparalleled insight into IBM products

and technologies. These benefits can

have a real impact on your organiza-

tion, your business relationships and

your bottom line. Let IBM Software

Services for Lotus help you leverage

the full potential of your Lotus software.

Minimize risk. Achieve a quicker return

on your investment. And connect you to

the right IBM Business Partners to help

you enhance communication, collabora-

tion and learning.

For more informationTo learn more about IBM Software

Services for Lotus, visit:

ibm.com /lotus/services

To learn more about IBM WebSphere

Portal for Multiplatforms software, visit:

ibm.com /software/genservers/portal

10 11

© Copyright IBM Corporation 2004

IBM Software Services for LotusIBM Software GroupOne Rogers StreetCambridge, MA 02142U.S.A.

Produced in the United States of America 10-04All Rights Reserved

IBM, the IBM logo, Lotus, WebSphere, Workplace and Workplace Messaging are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries or both.

Other company, product and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.

References in this publication to IBM products or services do not imply that IBM intends to make them available in all countries in which IBM operates.

1, 2 Gene Phifer, et. al. “Magic Quadrant for Horizontal Portal Products, 2004.” Gartner, Inc. March 30, 2004.

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